Award-winning social creative + marketing agency
Avant-Visual Meets Avant-Strategy.
We have a passion for building iconic digital brands for tech, music, lifestyle & fashion brands through social marketing, creative + advertising.
Regardless of industry, you need a powerful brand identity, relatable high-quality content, and repeatable marketing and advertising campaigns to continue scaling your business online.
Serving the United States and Canada, Austere is a creative + digital marketing agency that allows individuals and business owners to thrive through their social content and digital marketing expertise. Its team of experts handles all aspects of marketing and creative services such as content shoots, social media marketing and management, growth hacking, content creation, video editing, and metaverse marketing strategies.
As a team whose work is responsible for bringing in over 36 million new followers/subscribers, over 1 billion video views and $,$$$,$$$+ in sales for our clients combined, we know a thing or two about creating iconic, viral-worthy brands that translate to massive dollar signs.
Notable clients include
- Pizza Hut
- Jamba Juice
- Sony Music
- Columbia Records
- NFT Oasis
- Blue Note NYC
- ATOS
headquarters
other locations
Focus
Recommended Providers
Portfolio
Pizza Hut, Jamba Juice, Sony Music, Columbia Records, ATOS, Blue Note NYC, Sony Hall, NFT Oasis
Our Vision
A short video that creates the mood / promo for our agency. Learn more and see all of our great works here:
https://app.pitch.com/app/presentation/5d881c33-b733-4959-a94d-353d1d752...
Pizza Hut: 75k -> 36m Follower Growth
Our founder, Natasha Brito, worked as the Head of Creative, Digital Engagement aka the sole in-house creative at Pizza Hut US for 4 years leading their entire social media creative initiative.
During our founder’s work at Pizza Hut, she led the Digital Engagement (aka social + social ads) team on their creative efforts. This period of time reflects Pizza Hut’s largest growth period in followers, engagement, online customer opt-ins, and viral publicity features. It’s safe to say that taking a global brand from 75k followers online to over 36 million across all platforms over the course of a few years is rather insane but that’s just what was done.
The work was not only focused on photo/video shoots for social content but also centered around viral-worthy social advertising, long-form videos for YouTube, and aligning with the right influencer partners to scale awareness and brand affinity fast. We’re humbled by these accomplishments and have replicated these efforts across our other clients and projects since Natasha’s departure from Pizza Hut’s team.
// R E S U L T S
results include 4 years and 300+ photo shoots produced, 36 million followers, 7 figures in digital sales, and massive social authority through various viral moments.
// T E S T I M O N I A L
“We simply wouldn’t have grown as quickly or gained as much viral attention if it weren’t for your passion and true digital awareness.”
The Digital Engagement Team
Sophie Hunter: 300 -> 90k Followers on TikTok
Sophie came to Austere through our development program called The Iconic Artist; a course and coaching program for young developing artists seeking education and mentorship as they dive into the music world. Through coaching, we elevated Sophie’s TikTok strategy far beyond her expectations.
Within Sophie’s first month of being inside our development program, she has gone viral on TikTok twice and seen exponential growth in her streams, Spotify followers, and subscribers on YouTube. We will continue working towards future viral moments with her to amplify these beautiful wins.
Results include 300 TikTok followers -> 900,000 followers in under 2 weeks // 300% Streams and Spotify growth upon going viral // 800 New Spotify Followers
Jamba Juice: Elevating Social Content (Shoots)
2 seasons, 2 shoots, 6 months' worth of inspiring social marketing assets created.
When we were approached by Jamba to work on a summer and fall content shoot to raise awareness for their new flavors and acaî bowls, we were jazzed. We worked closely with the Jamba team to ensure we had a proper content strategy and in the end, we were happy to deliver more than they needed to fill their content calendars with.
// T E S T I M O N I A L
“Finding a partner who is able to contribute to strategy, ideation, planning, and execution is like looking for toilet paper in a pandemic. AUSTERE contributed in all those dimensions beyond what I ever would have expected a small team to be capable of; it was like working with thirty people in one package. Professional and exceptional - working with AUSTERE was like hiring the competencies of a major creative agency in a micro group.”
Brandon Hill, AOR at Jamba
NFT Oasis: $500,000 Sales via Social Content Promo
We partnered at the launch of NFT Oasis, a company creating the founding members of the metaverse, to blueprint their brand visuals across socials and focused on promoting their luxury virtual penthouse NFTs.
Our team was tasked to help the NFT Oasis team develop their visual identity via social content and beyond. Their goal is to educate, inspire and create a thriving ecosystem for creators, investors, and viewers to enjoy the metaverse through a utopian future of blockchain possibilities.
// R E S U L T S
Over the course of 6 months creating beautiful promotional videos for their NFTs, they’ve sold over 35 virtual penthouses and generated over $500,000 (41 sold at 3 ETH a piece) in sales from them.
Tech Daze: 1.5m YouTube Subscribers in 1 Year
Our team has created a side romance with the YouTube platform in 2021. We took some marketing strategies ideas we’d been playing with and developed a collection of shorts channels that focus on different niches of interest to test scaling strategies for ourselves and our clients.
This journey has been invaluable to the success of our testing and allowed us to create digital real estate to continuously remarket to and develop for others. There was zero ad spend used on these channels. This is purely from organic strategy. In other words, we’ve cracked the ORGANIC YouTube algorithm.
1 Million+ YouTube Subscribers generated across channels // 845M Video views generated across channels // 7 months Duration of scaling these channels thus far.
Hey Violet: Scaling Social + Ads + Creative
We worked closely with alt-pop band, Hey Violet, over the course of 6 months to elevate their social creative, growth marketing, and advertising strategies across 3 EP releases.
In those 6 months, we helped them navigate the independent music world after leaving their latest record label contract. Our scope included developing their visual identity, social content creation, advertising management, and marketing consulting. We also edited a sizzle video for them which you can watch below.
// R E S U L T S
Results include 64k+ new Instagram followers, 450% Engagement increase compared to previous months on Instagram, 3.4M streams across 2 EPs with very limited ad spend + majority organic engagement practices, 850k+ Music video views between two videos with very limited ad spend
// T E S T I M O N I A L
"Thanks to AUSTERE, the campaigns have seen an increase in social media engagement. We were impressed by the team’s creativity and organization, exceeding our expectations during the engagement."
Kenny Enea
Reviews
the project
Marketing & Advertising for Entertainment Providers
"Your brand will grow and change the way you think about things. It will blow everyone else out of the water."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I run a music distribution company and management firm for rock bands.
What challenge were you trying to address with AUSTERE?
They’ve helped us rebrand our company visually to attract better artists. We’re in a highly competitive market with some companies that have been around for a very long time and have more money than we do. Our goal was to look young, hip, and cool.
What was the scope of their involvement?
They provide marketing, advertising, and web development and design. Specific deliverables include logos, social content, etc. We informed them of our target audience to start.
They work in a number of channels, including YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and more.
What is the team composition?
We work with Natasha (Founder & CEO) and four others.
How did you come to work with AUSTERE?
I saw them posting on a music industry board about how to generate income for artists who aren’t touring during COVID.
How much have you invested with them?
We have a $15,000 monthly retainer.
What is the status of this engagement?
We’ve been working together since March 2021.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We’ve seen a huge increase in our organic traffic on our site, as well as video view increases for our clients. I’ve never seen anything like this growth before.
How did AUSTERE perform from a project management standpoint?
They’re fantastic in this regard. I don’t have a single bad thing to say about them. We work through Asana. They also use a different website to hold our schedule. Zoom and Slack and email help us communicate.
What did you find most impressive about them?
They’re highly creative and outside-the-box thinkers. They know how to go big and make something be elegant, organic, and sexy.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, not off the top of my head.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
You won’t regret it; it will be absolutely incredible. Your brand will grow and change the way you think about things. It will blow everyone else out of the water.
the project
Design Support for Marketing & Management Firm
"They’ll impact everybody they work with, and I’ve certainly seen that throughout my time working with them."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I run a marketing and management firm called Scorpion LTD. I’m the co-founder and current VP.
What challenge were you trying to address with AUSTERE?
We needed a really dynamic bunch of image, branding, and web assets not only for ourselves but also for our clients. We went to AUSTERE looking for an all-in-one solution for those issues.
What was the scope of their involvement?
We’ve been working steadily with AUSTERE across at least a dozen projects ranging from a single app that they use to campaign-level tasks to motion graphics, video assets, and still assets. We’ve really done a lot with the team at this point.
What is the team composition?
Right now, there is a team of three helping us, with Natasha (CEO & Chief Creative) as the designer and creative director.
How did you come to work with AUSTERE?
I heard about AUSTERE from an internship group. Natasha was kind enough to meet with me in New York City, so I drove up there and we have been working together since.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve spent somewhere between $5,000–$7,000 altogether.
What is the status of this engagement?
Our partnership started in January 2020 and is ongoing.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
AUSTERE has been a critical element in us being able to service our clients who need any kind of visual branding. The quality of their work is the reason I continue to engage with them.
How did AUSTERE perform from a project management standpoint?
AUSTERE always comes to the table with multiple different ways for us to stay in touch, and Natasha is extremely good at project management and communication. They use Slack, but I’m very old school so I prefer to use email.
What did you find most impressive about them?
There are designers everywhere that are pretty good at doing this kind of work, but what sets AUSTERE apart is the fact that Natasha is somebody who, as an individual and as a creative director, brings value to medium-sized agencies just through what she can do by herself. She has structured an agency around that and has hired people who are at a similar skill level. It’s just changed the whole dynamic of our partnership to the point where they’ve become indispensable.
I think when you have an agency that is such a stellar provider, there’s a tendency that they’ll impact everybody they work with, and I’ve certainly seen that throughout my time working with them.
Are there any areas they could improve?
They need to get bigger in order for us to go to them for everything.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Spend the money to do it the right way. AUSTERE is not trying to make 1000% profit on any project, but if they are a team that’s flexible enough to work with people at different levels so you need to pay for the privilege of that service. It’s not cheap, but it's affordable and the value they deliver far outweighs the price tag.
the project
Branding & SocMed Mktg for Music Prod & Artist Dev Company
"They were on top of all aspects of the project and were able to implement any new ideas when needed."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
Music Production company and Artist Development.
For what projects/services did your company hire AUSTERE, and what were your goals?
Branding, marketing and social media content targeting for new music releases and rebranding of artist.
How did you select this vendor?
We were impressed with her portfolio and work with other artists. We actually switched companies midstream because they were so on point with their approach and vision.
Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.
There were initial meetings with the band and producers to develop a vision of the social media content and artistry to be displayed through the assets. As the partnership continued, they developed a timeline and coordinated asset creation and distribution throughout the term of the campaign.
Their creative team met with band members to flesh out and develop video ideas, social media collaborations and marketing strategies as well as influencer collaborations to gain more eyes on the music and creative products. Developed multi level ideas of merchandise and income streams. Natasha and her team are extremely knowledgable in all aspects of music marketing.
How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?
There were 5 team members, lead by Natasha Brito, that coordinated everything from asset creation to marketing and ad placements.
Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
We have seen an increase in social media engagement and enthusiasm. The band has a more cohesive image and message through the work done with Austere.We will continue to work with them through future releases.
Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.
Their team is very efficient in creating time paths and calendars. Everything was extremely organized, communicated and methodical. Deadlines were met, any need for feedback was completely open and transparent, could not have asked for a better team to work with.
What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?
Their ability to deliver what they said. They exceeded expectations.
Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?
No we were very happy with the ramp up and execution of the campaign. They were on top of all aspects of the project and were able to implement any new ideas when needed.